Brooks Koepka will officially make his PGA Tour return at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines after both he and the Tour announced a compromise that would see the five-time major champion regain his membership.
While the news was met with positively received by large sections of the media and fans alike, it is unlikely to sit well with everybody. Golfweek’s Adam Schupak wrote on ‘X’ that, though he wasn’t personally present at the Sony Open in Hawaii – the first PGA Tour event of 2026 – he’s been made aware that former PGA Tour player and current Chief Player Officer was “getting an earful” from many players.
“There’s a lot of people that were hurt by it when I left, and I understand that’s part of coming back,” Koepka told Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press, with the reporter adding that the former LIV player is expecting to face some angry players when he tees it up at Torrey Pines and at the WM Phoenix Open which he won in 2015 – his maiden PGA Tour victory.
However, publicly at least, the initial reaction has been largely positive.
“We all want to play against the best players. Brooks Koepka is certainly one of them,” Ludvig Åberg said on the PGA Tour’s The Drop, while Max Homa simply posted an image of Koepka and himself on Instagram captioned “Welcome home Brooks.”
Michael Kim is another who aired his views on social media ahead of the Sony Open, declaring that he was focusing on his own game and that Koepka’s return wouldn’t change that.
“For me personally, I’m not mad or happy he’s back,” Kim wrote. “We knew it was coming for a while and my job doesn’t change. I’m trying to win this tournament and play the best that I can this year. That’s it.”
Gary Woodland admitted that his relationship with Koepka coloured his view, but is hoping that animosities between players on both sides of the LIV/PGA divide will ease.
“I’m in a tough spot because I’m friends with Brooks,” Woodland said. “A lot of guys are friends with Brooks out here. A couple of years ago, there was a lot more hostility between the two tours. That’s gone down. I’m happy for Brooks. I’m happy for the tour that we’re finally getting to the point of moving past all this crap and getting back to golf.”
Billy Horschel gave a more nuanced opinion to Ferguson, saying that the financial penalty issued to Koepka would hopefully alleviate some of the anger.
“I’m not shocked,” he said. “I figured there would be a path back for these guys. For PGA Tour players who hold some animosity, who want to see some skin, this hopefully gives them what they want. And at the same time, it shows (LIV) guys there’s a price you have to pay to come back.”
2023 Open champion Brian Harman admitted that his initial reaction was one of anger, but feels that the financial penalty is significant and that it will go some way to easing the upset.
“Like most guys, when you hear he’s coming back, your first instinct is to be upset,” he said. “But I think the punishment is real. It’s not a free pass back into perfectly good graces. … Your main thing is, ‘Where’s the one-year suspension? Where’s the time served?’ I think that will be the hardest hurdle for PGA Tour players to get over. But $5 million is a lot.”
A lot more players will have their say over the coming week, so stay tuned for more updates.
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